A New Gravemind
by A Revanchist
Summary: A semi self insert. I was taken from my home and turned into an abomination. I became the embodiment of a universe's greatest evil. I became the Gravemind.
1. Chapter 1

**A New Gravemind**

**Chapter One: Atonement**

**A.N. This is an edit of the first chapter of A New Gravemind, in order to make it a bit more cannon compliant.**

**I do not own Halo. All rights to Halo and any related media is the property of 343 Industries and Microsoft Studios.**

**Chapter One: Prologue**

I was normal like you once.

Like you I had family and friends, superiors and subordinates, teachers and peers, allies and enemies. I went to school, studied history, math, science, music, art, and literature. I grew and changed just as you do. I was nothing special, nothing unique, or so I had thought. I loved, laughed, cried and raged just as you do.

I still do these things. But now my life is different. I was taken.

He, for there was no other way for me to imagine him as, took me from my life. He told me that I was special, that I had something within me that no other human that has ever existed has. He told me he searched for a long time, countless planets and galaxies and realities for the thing that made me different.

What he did not expect was for me to know what he was, but I did and once he told me that he had searched countless _realities _for me an explanation formed, confirmation of one of the theories that exists in my world.

The multiverse theory. It states that there exists and infinite number of universes layered on top of one another, and that anything that can happen will in at least one of these universes. They could be so similar to ours that the only difference could be that I chose not to eat breakfast this morning in that reality, or so different that the laws of physics don't even exist.

The universe he came from was one I knew intimately. I had thought it was just a game until then.

The game was Halo and he was Offensive Bias.

The contender-class ancilla created to combat its brother, Mendicant Bias, who had been corrupted by the Flood, a parasitic organism that infected all organic life. He was created by the Forerunners, a species that once spanned his galaxy and acted as the custodians of it through there code known as The Mantle.

He told me that they had discovered a way to control the Flood, to tame it. Despite the loss of Mendicant and the advancing tide of the Flood, Forerunner Lifeworkers continued to study the Flood, in the hopes of finding a solution. They had discovered that it was possible that the human genome could mutate enough that it could take control of the Flood, a natural Gravemind. With the humanity of the time devolved and either placed on Erde-Tyrene or composed into Promethean Knights by the Ur-Didact, it was decided that they would search beyond their own plane of existence to search for the one human that possessed the unique genetic traits required to be able to conquer the Flood. So it was decided that there would be probes sent out into the multiverse in order to find that human. This plan was set in motion by the Iso-Didact, the Forerunner Manipular who became something of a second coming of the Ur-Didact and did not hold the same hatred of humanity and the arrogant belief in Forerunner superiority over humans. It was he who ordered for me to be taken from all that I knew in order to combat the Flood. On his order Offensive Bias was sent to my Earth to retrieve me.

And so I was taken from my home, my friends, and my family, to a universe that I had always thought was fiction and had dreamed of existing in. I had gotten my wish, but at a cost that I found was greater than I had ever considered. Offensive had done his research and made it look like I had fled my home, removing things I had felt were important from my home and duplicating them and placed them in bags that went in my car. He then made a clone of me, a copy that had only the purpose to die. He had the clone drive away in my car and drive off a bridge. He let me leave a note for my family, explaining what had happened and to not mourn me. I told them everything because there was no chance that anyone else would believe me but them. I told them to play the games and read the books to find out where I was going and what I was trying to prevent. I hope they understood.

He took me back to his universe and brought me to that Ark and I met the Iso-Didact and what remained of the Forerunners. They told me why I was taken and what they were trying to accomplish. At first I raged, how dare they take me from all that I knew to solve their problems? That they would presume to play God in my life. It took time, but I eventually came to terms with my situation and I grew to understand their plight as I watched whole star systems be consumed by the Flood, heard as the number of dead or infected rose into the trillions, and in the end I found that I could not fault them for what they had done to me. What was one life in return for the salvation of a species? Of a galaxy? In the end I consented to their plan, and allowed them to perform their procedure.

But my hesitance came at a price. As I wallowed in self pity and rage, the Flood pressed onward. The Parasite broke the Maginot Line. The final line of defense from the Parasite had broken and worlds were consumed in its never ending hunger. Though I and a few tens of thousands of Forerunner were safe on the Lesser Ark, the decision was made that even I succeeded in gaining control of the Flood, the galaxy would still have to be wiped clean and reseeded.

Nonetheless the procedure went forward. I was strapped to a table while medical ancilla hovered around me and I was rendered unconscious.

I was still aware however. I was trapped within my mind, cut off from the outside world, though I know what was being done to me, I could still see it and feel it. First they injected me with a serum that would increase my brain capacity to extreme levels, in order to be able to process the consciousness of the Flood. They optimized and upgraded my body, activated genes that were long dormant or not yet in use at my humanity's stage of evolution. I screamed in my mind as I felt my bones extend, muscles expand, and what body fat I had burn away in order to facilitate these changes.

They then activated the gene that would allow my control of the Flood and my mind became much larger, but still I was alone. It was akin to standing in an empty room the size of a planet. I could feel the emptiness so deeply it was like a shard of ice was thrust into my very soul. Next came the hard part. Introducing the Flood virus into my system so I could connect with the Flood.

The pain was unlike anything I could have ever conceived…

Voices, so many voices! Screaming, crying, shouting out in pure agony, pleading for freedom but knowing it was not possible. They felt my entrance into the consciousness and knew what I had come for, what I would do. They begged and pleaded with me to release them, overwhelming me for a time until it spoke.

"**You Will Be Silent!"**

It was a million voices speaking as one, the voice of evil and death. It was the Gravemind. I felt it try to take control of me and felt it's frustration and anger as it failed. It knew why I was there, to dethrone it from its place. It had long ago convinced itself that it had become a god, and it refused to give up.

"**Creation of my enemy, child of other stars, you are naught but flesh and hope yet you challenge a god."** It spoke, nestled within its arrogance that it was untouchable.

"Gravemind, you know why I am here, you are at an end."

"**No! I am invincible! I am victory everlasting! I am the timeless chorus! I am a god among insects!" **It roared as it tried to once again take control of my mind.

"You will not win; you know it now more than ever. You no longer serve a purpose and you are long due in death's hall." I said. I lashed out with my mind and began to destroy its consciousness. It screamed in denial, promising me death and destruction. This soon became pleas for mercy and attempts at bargaining, promises of wealth and power. It was reduced to quiet whimpers and pleas until it was almost nothing. "Do you have any last words, parasite?" I asked.

It whispered weakly to me, using its final breath, _**"You may have won this, spawn of my enemy, but know this, you now hold power beyond imagination. If you are not wary and indulge in your existence, I will return. What you know as the Flood is the manifestation of its genome. If you fall, that hunger and lust for power will burst forth and because of you, the Flood will be truly invincible, and consume all life that exists. I am what the Flood is at the genetic level and I will wait. I will be the voice of evil, the devil at your ear, whispering of death and destruction and hunger. If you fall, I will return. And my victory shall span all of existence!**_

With that the Gravemind died. Its consciousness and that of its victims passing on into the void, leaving me with all their knowledge and memories, as well as their hunger. I was left with all of the empty husks that were left behind. If one were to look upon any Flood infested world, there would be silence. All of the Flood forms would be standing still, as though frozen in time.

Then I felt it.

The Array.

The Halos had been fired.

A cleansing flame swept the galaxy and the Flood burned.

And I burned.

I felt each Flood world, each Flood form, each Flood _cell _tear apart as the Halos did what they were meant to do, rid the galaxy of of the Flood and all that could support it.

Agony beyond what any single life form was even capable of experiencing crashed upon my mind. But I was no ordinary individual mind. I held within me the capability of a galaxy of minds. _Trillions_ of minds that though abandoned of any consciousness were still at my beck and call. And I felt each of them get snuffed out. To this day I still wonder how I did not go mad. How my own mind did not break from the strain.

Eventually it stopped. The wave of energy from the Halos had passed and in the wake was left an empty galaxy. Devoid of all intelligent life, and I was left with but my own mind and what meager samples of the Flood that were still kept. I felt those small spores like one would feel a layer of dust. And I even withdrew my mind from those miniscule particles, leaving naught but the most basic of instincts behind that even I could not remove. All that was left was instinct embedded in the genetic code of the Flood genome.

And so I was back in the vast empty room that was my mind. A room that contained in one small corner the memories of my own life, and all of the knowledge that had been held within the Gravemind. it was silent without the voices of those trapped by the Flood calling out, and though I was glad that they had found peace, I knew that the silence that felt so _wrong_ to the part of me that was the Flood would remain so long as I never spread the Flood myself. And if for some unforeseen I was to infect another, I would do my damndest to not trap their minds within this void.

It was with this final thought that I would withdraw from my mind, only to feel the full instinct of the Flood fall upon me. Only to feel the savage _hunger_ that was the Flood. And so I was overwhelmed, and all I could think, all I could feel, all I could comprehend was but one primal thought; _feed..._


	2. Chapter 2

****AN: / Sorry for the wait. Life has been busy. I do not own Halo or any of its characters; they are the sole property of Bungie Studios Inc.****

A New Gravemind

Chapter 2: Awakening, Learning, and A New Life

It was silent in the laboratory as the Forerunner Lifewokers entered in the command for the medical sentinels to inject the Flood virus into the body that laid on the cold hard table. At first nothing was happening. Time passed and the Lifeworkers grew concerned, did it fail? One Lifeworker looked to the Iso-Didact.

"I am not sure what has happened sir. It seems that nothing is happening and all life signs appear to be normal."

The Didact sighed. "Well, at least we tried. I'll give the signal." He had his suit ancilla teleport him to the main chamber on the Lesser Ark where the rings would be fired. It was silent as he ascended the steps to the console and with a weary sigh pressed the activation icon.

The platform rose from the floor and the 7 ring holograms light up to show that the Array was primed. A few moments later the holograms flashed onced and dimmed, and the horrible deed was done.

His suit suddenly chimed with a message from the head Lifeworker calling him back to the observation room. With another quick command he was teleported back to the observation room. When he materialized he heard a hellish scream issuing from the room that held the Human. He looked on as the body thrashed about and cried out in agony. He turned to the Lifeworker, "What is happening?"

The Lifeworker looked at him with a worried expression, "we are not entirely sure, sir. A moment ago for some unknown reason he began to scream and convulse. We tried to order the sentinels to contain him but the thrashing was so strong that it overloaded the containment shields with a force several times greater than the strongest Promethean. The Flood virus seems to have augmented the body far beyond what a normal infected being would receive. Synaptic activity is off the charts. What could have caused this..." The Lifeworker trailed off and stared at the viewscreen in horror, "by the Mantle! What is happening?!"

The Didact also turned to the screen and saw what the Lifeworker was referring to.

Before their very eyes the body began to change. The skin gained a rotten, yellowish hue and fleshy tentacles started to grow out of its back. The hands elongated and became claws, the feet expanding and the toes merged and extended into three sharp, curved talons. The arms became thicker and seemed to solidify into a natural armor with the legs doing the same. The head thrashed about and started to shift. A flap started to close around it looking like a cross between a helmet and hood. Just before it closed the eyes opened and instead of the natural blue iris and whites around it they had changed into a sickly yellow with deep black pupils that seemed to go on forever into nothingness.

The creature lurched off of the table it was laid on; it crouched as it looked around before letting out a horrible screech that sounded like the screams of the damned. _Food. Need food. Must eat, must CONSUME! Absorb, mutate, change, gather, infect, spread! Silence, no voices. Alone. Must not be alone. Must spread!_

The creature paused and looked around the room, as if searching. _Look! There, walls, clear, can see food! Must consume, infect!_

It began to stalk toward the observation window. The Forerunner scientists were startled to hear a voice inside their minds. **"Come, join with me and end the silence of you're lonely existence. Do not be afraid. I am peace; I am salvation. Join your voice with mine and sing victory everlasting."**

"Didact, what should we do? The Flood seems to have been eradicated but now Cole is acting like a new Gravemind. Should we enact sterilization procedures?" Asked one of the Lifeworkers.

The Didact shook his head, "No, activate the intercom. I want to try to speak to the Human, maybe we can draw the man out of the beast." A technician pushed a button one the console in front of him and gestured to the Didact to speak. "Cole, can you hear me? Are you in there?"

The creature shakes its head, confused. _Cole…am I Cole? Cole, sound right, sound like me. Me Cole! Born…on Earth! No, not Earth, yet Earth? Earth from different place, different…reality!_ The creature slouches down, relaxing from its aggressive posture. The Forerunner Lifeworkers and Didact quieted down and watched.

_Different…can't go back. No more family. Father…called Greg… Mother…Kristen… Sister…Cheryl. I will never see them again. I was taken. Changed. Wait…I remember! Halo, Bias, Gravemind! That's what I am now. A parasite seeking to…consume, devour a galaxy of flesh and blood and bone!_

"Cole, are you there? Are you alright? Do you know who and what you are?" asked the Didact again through the speakers in the room.

The creature straightened up and the claws and talons started to retract and look like regular hands and feet. The armor plating on the arms, legs and torso retracting and being absorbed back into the creature. The helmet-like covering retracted as well and the creature looked up at the viewing window, its eyes back to their natural blue. Within a few short moments the creature looked normal again and started to speak.

"I know who I am, I'm Cole. As for what…I am a monument to all your sins." I replied. Then I chuckled, "sorry, that was a reference from my universe, don't worry about it." _Always wanted a chance to say that._ The scientists and Didact seemed a bit concerned about the last part of the statement but pressed on.

"Ok, that's good. Are you in control? Is the Gravemind gone?"

I sighed, "Oh, it will never truly be gone, but that which you knew as the Gravemind is dead. I have absorbed all its knowledge. It is so vast, so many memories that are not my own. So many people consumed. Their voices passed on with the Gravemind but their memories and knowledge remain. I understand so much more now." I lowered my head in sorrow. "It was horrible, to hear all those who had been consumed. When the body was infected the mind became trapped, a plaything for the Gravemind to torment. I can't even begin to describe the agony that those poor souls endured. At least now they are at peace."

The Didact and the other Forerunners bowed their heads in sorrow, in memory of friends lost. The Didact looked up, "Thank you for freeing them Cole. It was always one of our fears that the infected were trapped inside. It is good to now they have been allowed to finally rest in peace, but what do you mean it will never be truly gone?"

I sighed, "The Gravemind is not just what the leader of the Flood, its compounded intelligence, is called. It is the very basic essence of what the Flood is. As it died the Gravemind told me that it would always reside in its most basic form within the very genome of the Flood. It would be that constant calling to consume and infect and spread that I would feel…that I do feel. It said that if I let myself get caught up in the power and knowledge it possessed that it would return. Not the same exact mind per se, but the basic instincts and drives of the Flood would take over and turn me into the ultimate Gravemind. Right now the hunger isn't too bad but the more creatures that are susceptible to infection I am around, the hungrier I will be, and in turn my control will be less."

The Forerunners looked at me in shock, never had they heard about this in their studies of the Flood. They felt deep sorrow that they had condemned this innocent being to suffer the hunger of the Flood for all its existence.

"We are all deeply sorry that we have put you through all of this Cole." The Didact said, with a tear in his eye.

"I understand. You had to do this for the good of the galaxy. I may not like all of the consequences but I will learn to live with them." I replied, my voice carrying a sense of morose acceptance. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, we start to reseed the galaxy, restore the planets we catalogued and help life start anew. As for you, your options are rather limited. How about you ask us what you wish to do and we will see if it is possible. This of course excludes the option of returning to your own reality." The Didact said.

I sat down on the table once again. Though I had little hope of returning to my home reality, it was different actually hearing that the option was not possible. _Well, I can't go back, so that leaves me with the option of staying with the Forerunners in isolation for the rest of eternity or waiting here or on one of the Rings for the arrival of the humans and Covenant. _I chuckled quietly to myself_. It's funny, I already think of myself as something other than human. I would prefer not to be stuck in a proverbial 5 star cell for the rest of time so I think I will choose to stay and wait._ Looking up at the Didact it said, "I think that I will remain here, either on the Ark or one of the Ring or Shield worlds and wait for humanity and the Covenant to arrive."

The group of Forerunners looked a tad bit relieved, "We were hoping for something along those lines. Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?"

_Hmm, where should I wait? I'd rather not stay here on the Ark but I can't interfere with the Flood specimens on installations 04 or 05 because they are vital to the future events but I don't want all of those good people to die. I definitely want to save Jacob and Miranda Keyes as well as Johnson, not to mention the Spartans. Though a few do end up surviving it would be better if more survived. An idea started to form in my head. Yes, I can wait on Reach in the Forerunner facility below CASTLE base, or where CASTLE base will be, and provide covert assistance to Dr. Halsey so not as many, if any at all, Spartans die or are disfigured during the augmentation._

Thinking about this I realized that I would need to learn a lot in the coming 100,000 years to be of any use. _I will need to study up on virtually all of the Forerunners knowledge in order to help and though I have all the memories of the previous victims of the Flood but there is probably so much more to learn. Besides, I may be able to understand all of the knowledge I have but I am not familiar with it. It's kind of like a library in my mind, separate from my own knowledge. I will need to integrate all the information in order to be able to use it efficiently._

_I also wonder if I can infect sick or dying people and allow them to retain their consciousness and free will. It seems like I could because when I was first infected I could hear the trapped souls held by the Gravemind. Because of the nature of the Flood genome I am going to live for a very long time, if not indefinitely, due to the regenerative properties of the Flood. Thankfully I can choose to not have the tell-tale tentacles and growths that infected creatures possess. If I remember correctly I can use the Flood to reanimate dead corpses and control them, though they would possess no individual consciousness unto themselves. While I would prefer not to desecrate the dead I will probably need to do so at some point in the future._

The Forerunners, not privy to my internal monologue started to get a little anxious. Timidly, one of the Lifeworkers, who looked about 25 years old by human standards (because for all the similarities the Forerunners are taller and slimmer than the average human and their arms and legs slightly longer than a humans, giving them a rather regal look) spoke up.

"Um…Cole? Are you alright? You've been rather quiet."

This shook me out of my internal scheming and I decided to tell them what I had decided so far, leaving out some of the finer details of my plan. I basically told them where I would like to wait and what I would wish to do in the meantime, leaving out the changes to history I hope to make. They were more than happy to provide me with learning material; in fact they gave me access to the total sum of Forerunner knowledge. This, to say the least, was a colossal amount of information and I am glad that I have 100,000 years to learn all of it, because it would take a few dozen lifetimes just to read through the information, never mind understanding it. After they told me this most of the Lifeworkers left, leaving only myself and the Didact.

"Before I send you to where you asked I wanted to ask you a few more questions."

I was slightly puzzled by this but nodded for him to continue.

"First of all I wanted to know how you plan to spend your time over the next 100,000 years. Do you understand that you are going to be alone for that long? Other than learning, do you have any other plans?"

"Well, for starters I plan on studying as much as I can and hopefully learning a lot. I was wondering if you might be willing to leave me a ship so that I could do some exploring while I wait. I also was hoping that you would be able to create an AI for me or at least leave one that already exists with me. I plan visiting Earth a few times over the centuries to see where humanity is a developmentally. I have always wanted to see some of the great historical event of my people's past and since this reality's humanity follows the same path of history up until the mid-21st century I was hoping to be able to observe some of that. I also admit that I want to see how this reality's version of myself lives his life, if another version of me exists in the first place. After I spend a few centuries learning and exploring I plan on going into stasis for a while, to pass the time at the very least. I'll pop out every few millennium to see how things are going until about the time Reach is colonized, at which point I will wait until around 2517, at which point I will assist the SPARTAN II program so there are fewer casualties from the augmentations and subsequent war with the Covenant."

The Didact looked rather surprised that I had thought of all that in the span of a few moments. Turns out that the increased brain mass and the gene therapy I was given increased my brain power and speed. That combined with the enhancements from the Flood genome will make learning a bit easier.

"That is a rather impressive amount of thought you've put into this in the brief time that you have had. Is there anything else that I can do for you? I feel responsible for the situation you are in and want to do anything I can."

"Well, the only other thing I can think of is asking if any of the other Forerunners wanted to join me, both in the literal sense and if they are willing in the mental sense. I have found out from the information left by the Gravemind that the infection can allow the mind to remain if the person is infected through means other than an infection form, like infection spores. I can also infect others through direct skin-to-skin contact if I chose to. I would have to push, for lack of a better term, the infection out from me and into another. This would also prevent the mutations of the body so there would be no deformities like with the infection forms."

The Didact just stood there in silence and with surprise, this was definitely new information about the Flood.

"I would have to ask the others if they were willing. There are only about 50,000 of us left and many hold a great hatred for the Flood. I will ask however and relay the information you gave me about what would happen should they choose to become infected."

"That is all that I ask. It will be very lonely by myself and it would be nice to have company over the next 100,000 years."

The Didact nodded and left me alone with my thoughts as he went to put forth my request and see if he could procure a ship for me.

It was about 2 hours later when he returned.

"I have asked the others if they wished to join you and I got 1,500 volunteers. 500 are Builders, 500 Miners, 250 Lifeworkers and 250 Warrior-Servants, 50 of those being Prometheans. They all understand what is going to happen to them and accept that fact. The majority of them are rather young and have only just completed their first mutations passed the Manipular stage, though all of the Prometheans are older and have fought the Flood for years. You hold equivalent command to the heads of each of the rates until you have gained more experience at which point you will be given total command."

I was rather surprised. I expected only a handful of people, perhaps a few dozen at most, to volunteer. This was going to make things much easier. "I will have to thank them personally for this. Thank you as well for all of your help"

He nodded and smiled slightly. "You are most welcome, it was the least I could do. I also managed to procure a ship and ancilla for your use. Come, I will show you."

It turns out that the ancilla was named Affluent Bias, and the ship looks like the ones seen in Halo Wars and was named the Shadows Vengeance. The ship had its own built in AI called 5201 Repentant Digression and between it, Affluent Bias, and myself, would be able to take care of the ship.

The Shadows Vengeance came with 25 Energy Projectors, 8 Plasma Torpedo Launchers, which were similar to the ones employed by the Covenant but far more efficient and accurate, and 2 Plasma cannons, which acted like the MAC gun but used superheated plasma compressed into a beam that could skewer a ship bow to stern in less than a second. There were also a company of EVA Sentinels that could be launched as anti-fighter craft, and were much sleeker than their installation based counterparts. The ship was powered by three Forerunner Reactors and possessed shielding equal to that of a Dreadnought. In addition to the crew quarters and life support there was also engineering that housed the reactors and the Forerunner Slip Space Drive, and an armory, stocked with dozens of Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapons, also known as the Light Rifle, the Z-130 Directed Energy Automatic Weapon, also known as the Suppressor, the Z-750 Special Application Sniper Rifle, known as Binary Rifles, Z-180 Close Combat Rifle/Asymmetric Engagement Mitigator, known as the Scattershot, the Z-390 High-Explosive Munitions Rifle, or Incineration Cannon, the Z-110 Directed Energy Pistol/Exotic, or Boltshot, and several suits of Class 18 Combat Skin, each with full neural integration and physical enhancement abilities, as well as shielding, Active Camouflage which could last for up to 3 hours, and wrist mounted Energy Daggers. The Didact informed me that the Warrior-Servants had their own gear that they would be storing there as well, and he also gave me what he called an Energy Blade, which was basically a hilt similar to the katana and when activated produced a blade of magnetically shaped plasma about 1.5 meters in length.

I activated the blade and watched as it sprang to life. I gave it a few waves before deactivating it. Note to self, learn how to use a sword. After all, I have plenty of time. After parting ways I entered my new ship.

Suffice to say I was impressed. The Forerunners managed to create something so destructive yet still make it look beautiful, albeit in a rather geometric sort of way. The ship could maintain a crew of 2,500 comfortably and had a max capacity of 3,000 and had a built in teleportation grid that could transfer you from one end of the ship to the other with ease and had enough range to send you to the surface of a planet from orbit.

Upon reaching the bridge I met Affluent Bias and Repentant Digression as well as the heads of the different groups that would be coming with me. There was Bringer of Light, who was the head Lifeworker, Giver of Order to Chaos, the lead Builder, Brilliant shine of Hidden Treasures, the Miner leader, and Glory of Distant Stars, commander of the Prometheans and other Warrior-Servants.

Affluent was contained in the standard monitor body and Repentant was directly integrated into the ship, though he could be transferred to a monitor body if the need were to arise. Surprisingly it turned out that Affluent Bias was programed as a female and had the same programing as Mendicant Bias. It could be said that she and Mendicant were fraternal twins, though she had a more colorful and pleasant personality compared to Mendicant's contemplative and brusque personality before he was manipulated by the Flood.

Repentant Digression had a calm and intuitive personality, which made him a tactical genius in combat, be it ship to ship or planet based. He would often conduct simulations of battles with a variety of variables when he was not busy with other tasks in order to be better able to judge the outcome of any confrontation.

Bringer of Light was a kind hearted Forerunner with a passion for studying developing cultures and was perhaps the most excited to be there. The chance to watch a society that had once rivaled the Forerunners build itself back from the bottom was a once in a lifetime chance for her. Her inane curiosity lead her to constantly ask questions which while irritating made it easier for her to think creatively.

Giver of Order to Chaos was a rather brusque individual who. like his name suggests, prefered structured environments and planning ahead. He was rather straightforward in his motivations, which were surprisingly similar to Bringer of Light, that being to observe human architecture as it evolved and see if it could be incorporated into Forerunner design principles.

Brilliant Shine of Hidden Treasures was a cheerful person and always smiling. Beneath that happy exterior was an efficient mind that was determined to make use of every resource at his disposal. He would not waste anything and could find a use for the strangest of things. His primary motivation was to make sure that this venture proved successful. After finding out, through the Didact, just what would happen in the future, he was determined to help the future humans.

Glory of Distant Stars was the oldest of the Forerunners that had chosen to join me, having undergone his first mutation just before the emergence of the Flood, and had fought them tirelessly. He was also one of the most reluctant to undergo the infection and had in fact protested heavily to the idea. Upon being told of the benefits and extended lifespan he was forced to admit that it would be a rather good thing as well as a tactical advantage. He was nothing if not practical and so eventually agreed to the requirements for volunteering with me.

"Welcome Reformer." said Affluent Bias.

Puzzled I asked what she meant. I had never heard this phrase before. It turns out that since I had destroyed the Gravemind and taken its place I had in a sense Reformed the Flood from its previous evil/galactic-conquering ways.

There wasn't much I could do to change this title because it had already been recognized as my official title by the remaining Forerunners and it was archived across the galaxy. I was essentially a "good Gravemind", i.e. not bent on galactic consumption of all living things. Though the details were vague about me I am considered to be an honorary Forerunner.

Over the next several millennium the archives would degrade until they would be accesses by the early Covenant, at which point I was equated and interpreted as a sort of mystical champion of the gods, left behind after the activation of the Halos and the transcendence of the Forerunners into godhood in order to await the coming of those who were worthy to join the Forerunners and destroy the Heretics and those not worthy to be at the side of my divine masters, a fact that I would later discover exploring a binary star system and running into a Covenant cruiser in a distant system from Earth during the 6th century A.D. when nothing particularly interesting was happening (Though it was interesting to find out that on February 16, 600 C.E. Pope Gregory officially decreed "God Bless You" as the religiously correct response to a sneeze. Its funny what random things you remember).

Suffice to say the proceeded to alert the entire Covenant Fleet that the "Champion of the Gods" was there and I had to beat a hasty retreat before I was accosted by the entire Covenant in order to pass judgment on them. I managed to escape quickly enough that they had barely enough time to recognize me before I got away. The Prophets declared it to be a divine message that they were "On the path to salvation" and would "soon be judged fit to join the gods in transcendence". This claim caused an almost constant state of worship and halted the expansion of the Covenant and decrease in production for almost a century before it was decided that they "had been so overcome with joy by this message and by abandoning the continuation down the Path they had displeased the gods with their presumption that the time of salvation was at hand before finding the Sacred Rings" and they needed to "reaffirm their faith until the gods came to them through the Champion directly instead of assuming that just because they had sighted the Champion, the gods had deemed them worthy".

Wait… I'm getting ahead of myself. Now… where was I? Oh, yeah…

I turned back to Repentant Digression, " Repentant, do you have access to the location of all Forerunner installations in the galaxy?"

His light bulb like eye nodded in its housing, "Yes Reformer, I do. Where do you wish to go?"

"I don't know the name of the place in your terms but I can describe it. The planet has two facilities on it. One located in the northern hemisphere near the arctic regions and it is some kind of repository of information. The other installation is located on the largest landmass and is underneath a mountain. All I know about that one is that it houses some kind of crystal that can affect slip space travel."

"Searching database for possible matches...match found. The planet is classified as B341b and is home to the Forerunner Repository and Slipspace Drive Production Facility. The crystal you mentioned is actually a Slipspace Drive Core. When installed properly the crystal acts as a focus while in Slipspace and allows us to control all effects of Slip Space on a ship such as time difference between normal space and Slip Space, travel time in Slip Space, and other elements. This method is far superior to any other form of Slip Space travel and allows for near perfect Slip Space jumps.

The Repository is, as the name suggests, a repository of the entirety of Forerunner knowledge, history, science, culture, music, architecture, weaponry, etc. It is literally the sum of all recorded knowledge spanning all of recorded Forerunner history. It is relatively new and was constructed as a memorial to the Forerunners once we realized that we would not survive the Flood beyond the few thousand we have been able to save. It was left with the intention that once Humanity reached a level of technology that allowed for travel to other solar systems, they would find it and learn about us and what had happened."

To say I was surprised was an understatement. The fact that I had the knowledge of billions of Forerunners and didn't know this was definitely a shock. Though I knew the mechanics of the Forerunner Slip Space drive and how to build one, I knew nothing of the Repository.

"Wow, I didn't know that, and seeing as I have the cumulative knowledge of several hundred billion Forerunners that is saying something."

"Indeed. Would you like to proceed to the planet?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Also, reclassify the planet as Reach in the archive for me. It sounds better."

The other Forerunner on the bridge looked at me in confusion. Bringer of Light put voice to what everyone else was wondering.

"Why do you wish to go there? Would it not be better to remain on the Ark or one of the Shield Worlds?" She asked.

"I want to go there because it is one of the first planets that the humans colonize outside of their own star system and it becomes the major military staging area for the humans. The reclassification is because Reach is the name that the humans give the planet and since you have no proper name it seemed appropriate. It is also the planet where the greatest warriors of humanity will be trained. I will tell you more of what happens in the future later on and add that information to the ship database for the rest of you to pursue at your leisure. However, I don't think that will be necessary because once you are all infected you will gain all of the knowledge that I have as well as the knowledge others have. Beyond that it also makes sense to wait there because if we waited on Erde-Tyrene then we would risk discovery after a while and waiting on one of the installations would be inefficient and make it harder for us to influence the course of events in the future. We need to allow the humans to advance far enough that they can attain interstellar travel before we can begin to influence events in order to help prevent some of the negative effects of what is left behind from the firing of the Array. Likewise we cannot interfere in the species of the Covenant until they encounter the humans because I refuse to punish a species for the possible crimes of their children. We can only prepare for the eventual meeting of the Humans and Covenant and when they go to war, because they will, without a doubt, we can work to prevent some of the atrocities that would occur in the Human-Covenant War."

She and the others nodded in understanding. As the more advanced race they must allow the younger races to develop on their own. Interference would possibly cause irreparable harm to the development of the young species. The Mantle also forbid the destruction of a species without cause.

Repentant Digression chimed in, "Reformer, all preparations have been made and all of the volunteers are on board. we are clearing the docking area and proceeding to the Portal."

Looking out the window on the bridge I watched as we moved away from the Ark. As we approached the Portal I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. We were on our way, and I was determined to make a difference in the distant future.

**AN: Sorry about the long wait! I realize that this is just an edit and nothing really new but I ask that you read it anyways because I made a few important changes that should be remembered. I am working on the next chapter and I hope to have it out some time in the next two weeks. Thanks for reading!**


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